April Fool’s prank, a dare, or a jab at an underlying issue? Twitter’s blue bird has been replaced with the face of Dogecoin: the iconic Shiba Inu. Here’s why.

Just days after April Fool’s, Twitter’s well-known blue bird logo has been replaced by a Shiba Inu—dubbed “Doge.” This came as a surprise for Twitter’s millions of users, as the meme is most commonly associated with the Dogecoin cryptocurrency.

Here’s the thing: the change was actually foreshadowed by a thread of tweets from Twitter’s owner, Elon Musk, with user @WSBChairman, who asked the tech billionaire to “just buy Twitter” and to “change the bird logo to a doge.” And he went and did it—even showing the screenshot with the caption “as promised” on his official account.

As of writing, the icon change has been applied to users in the Philippines. It is estimated that there are around 11.80 million Twitter users in the country as of early 2023. 

What’s more, Elon Musk, as of press time, has not disclosed if the change in logo is permanent or not. However, CNN points out that the Twitter CEO has previously used the social media platform to troll both fans and critics alike. 

Why the Shiba Inu?

Created on December 6, 2013, Dogecoin was created by two software engineers as a joke that pokes fun at other cryptocurrencies, according to a report by Variety. Taking inspiration from the meme of a dog surrounded by a bunch of Comic Sans text in broken English, the Shiba Inu image has now been associated with the Dogecoin cryptocurrency, as well as its blockchain.

Variety also notes that “the value of Dogecoin rose more than 20%” after Twitter’s blue bird icon was replaced by the Shiba Inu.” According to a report from CNN, the price of Dogecoin—which is usually volatile—was trading just under 8 cents [around PHP 1.33] Monday morning, but has gone up to about 9 cents [around PHP 1.49].

The Racketeering Lawsuit Against Musk

CNN’s report notes that “The doge logo appeared on the site two days after Musk asked a judge to throw out a $258 billion [around PHP 14.08 trillion] racketeering lawsuit accusing him of running a pyramid scheme to support the dogecoin.” 

The racketeering lawsuit was filed against the Twitter CEO in June 2022. “Among other things, the plaintiffs who sued Musk—seeking an eye-popping $258 billion in damages—pointed to his hosting gig on ‘SNL,’ where on Weekend Update he portrayed a fake financial expert who called Dogecoin a ‘hustle,’” says Variety. “SNL” refers to the television sketch comedy show “Saturday Night Live.” 

Arguing against the lawsuit, Elon Musk’s lawyers have pointed out in a court filing that “there is nothing unlawful about tweeting words of support for, or funny pictures about, a legitimate cryptocurrency that continues to hold a market cap of nearly $10 billion.”